Chuck Cook/USA TODAY
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) ordered the state’s sportsbooks Friday to cease taking wagers on the Jan. 2 Citrus Bowl between Purdue and Louisiana State, reportedly due to interim Boilermakers assistant coach Drew Brees‘ past business relationship with PointsBet.
Brees, an all-time NFL great who spent his college career at Purdue, agreed on Dec. 15 to join the Boilermakers’ coaching staff for the bowl game. A week later, he ended his business relationship with PointsBet, where he was a brand ambassador who appeared in ads and had an small stake in the sportsbook.
That Dec. 15 date is significant because, as ESPN reported, the NJDGE — which did not mention Brees by name in its edict — also mandated the voiding of all existing bets placed on the Citrus Bowl after the former New Orleans Saint’s hire at Purdue.
Brees went out with a literal bang at PointsBet in early December when the sportsbook faked his death in a phony lightning strike filmed to promote PointsBet’s Lightning Bets feature. Reactions to the publicity stunt ranged from a notable lack of laughter to genuine outrage from actual victims of lightning strikes.
Photo: Chuck Cook/USA TODAY